Replacement Tires on 95 Grand Am GT

[Komondor]

For the last several years, my 95 Grand Am GT had been using Dayton Daytona P205/55R16 89H M+S tires. They were great in terms of handling, traction on wet and even fair in snow. I just replaced the tires and since I was unable to find Daytons where I live, I went with Dean Quasar Plus tires P205/55R16 91S M+S. Right away I noticed a big difference it the handling. The new tires give a much smoother ride, but the car does not feel as solid and steady as it was with the Daytona tires, even though they were very worn out. I have two questions:

1. Does anyone have any opinion on the Dean tires ? How good are they?

2. I asked that they shop install the exact size as the old tires and I just noticed that, even though they are exactly the same size, the speed rating is different. They old Dayton tires were H while the new ones are S rated. Should I be concerned about this difference?

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help. I posted another question months ago and got much appreciated advice. This is a great site with many knowledgeable readers.

[skibum1111]

There's been alot of debate about tires on here, so I'll just post .... Personally, on my 95 gt I run bfgoodrich gforce kdw in the summer and snow tires in the winter as I really don't like exposing 10 year old alloys that still look good to salt. As for the speed rating, you should have h-rated tires on your car, thats what it calls for and the installer opened themselves up to a whole bunch of liability if you get into an accident that can be proven it was caused by improper tires. As for the Dean Quasar tires, I ran a set of them on a subaru, and I think they sucked. Lousy wet traction, horrible in the snow, and I was completely unimpressed with the performance they gave on a dry smooth road. I have seen other grand am's with them and have not had a chance to talk to the driver about them, but in new england they don't seem to be all that popular for performance, but they are cheap. Hope this helps you.

[phantomracerGA95]

I preferr the kuhmo ecsta supra 712 tires. They are Z rated for excessive traction at high speeds in rain or on dry pavement...They really suck in the snow though.

[tommy00gt1]

My next tires will be either the B.F. Goodrich Traction T.A.'s, or Yokohama Avid's. Both have recieved very favorable user comments.
there is a wealth of info on the TireRack.com website.

Tommy

[skibum1111]

I ran the Avid V4 before I got the bfg's, and I hated them. Traction wasn't as good as the touring ta vr4's that I had before them, they didn't corner as well, and they were a little noisy.

[tommy00gt1]

Wow, thanks for that info... I've got Dunlop Sport's on my GT1 now, but I wont need tires until next summer anyways so I've got some time to get opinions.
I also heard those Goodyear Assurance are supposed to be good too; expensive though....

[skibum1111]

My grand am had sh*tyear tires on it when I bought it, talk about a lousy tire (eagle rs-a). Noisy, couldn't hold the road for crap, and when I looked really close at them I noticed they were square. The tires were new when I bought the car, which is how I noticed it. I took great pleasure in smoking the hell out of them and replaced them with bfgoodrich touring ta vr4's. Running into a corner at high speed (85 mph), my buddy beside me had his 2000 ss camaro, he came out of the corner at 80, I came out at 90. He was running eagle f1's.

[tommy00gt1]

I always liked B.F. Goodrich too. I had their Radial T.A.'s on my '78 Trans Am. Man, you talk about a tire that was glued to the road, lol... That Trans Am would fly if I had put wings on it, lol....and corner like the rubber was glued to the road too.

Tommy